To Warm The Chilly Nights
by xXSuzuXx
Summary: In which Altair and Abbas are novices. And kind of a bit adorable.


The day had been bleak and grey, the sky a plum that hinted at the snow that would surely come by night. How much snow would come, however, neither boy had expected.

As light fled the atmosphere, cast away by the fall of the sun, snow began to drift gently from the heavens. The unforgiving chill sapped the strength of any so unfortunate as to be stuck outside; like the pair of novices trekking through the deep blankets of snow, legs numb and shoulders trembling heavily.

It picked up suddenly, becoming a flurry of white. So heavy was the snowfall that Abbas could hardly see his hands before his face. The cold was harsh and bit at his fingers and nose. "I knew this was a bad idea." He hissed between chattering teeth.

His companion, keeping only slightly ahead of him was shivering as well, trying to hide it, no doubt, but shivering all the same. At least he was not stumbling through the snow as he was, moving straight ahead as if guided by some sixth sense. It was not enough to help them find their way. "Quiet, Abbas." Replied Altair, and he found some amusement in that his voice shook as much his own did.

"I will not keep quiet, Altair. This is your fault. We would not be in this mess if you had not decided to leave the master behind."

Altair tensed. Clearly he did not like the fault being placed upon him. "You saw the man! He could not find information if it was thrown at him! And he has the decisiveness of a rabbit. He is a mess and we could better complete this mission without him." Altair crossed his arms, and tried very hard to resist rubbing at them for warmth. "Besides," He added, "You agreed. You could have stayed behind with the fool if you wanted."

"You forget yourself, Altair! He is a master- albeit not a very good one- and we should not have left." He argued.

"Nevertheless," He conceded, "We are here now and need to find some shelter."

"You will have to find it without my h-" Abbas was interrupted when Altair threw something- a knife- and it cut through the snow.

Abbas scowled. "There," Altair pointed. "Is a place to hide and be out of the cold."

"Fine." Abbas grumbled, pushing past his friend for the first time that night and trudging through the thick blankets of snow until he reached the opening in the stone. Altair was close behind him, and slipped by to find solace from the raging blizzard. Altair plopped himself down immediately, nearly six feet tall and still growing, but shivering violently like a tiny child in a thunderstorm. It was almost pitiable to see his friend as he was now. Abbas felt bad for him at least, though it was largely his own fault.

"You're shaking."

"So are you," Hissed Altair, defensively.

Abbas sighed. "But you are shaking worse," He sat beside him, and he could hear Altair's teeth clattering. "We should never have left the master behind."

"Not this again."

"Not with our supplies, at least then we would have had blankets."

Altair shifted, trying to warm himself with his hands. "A fire might be nice." He breathed.

"I am not building you a fire." Abbas huffed. Altair whined, or maybe it was supposed to be a scowl. Through the cold Abbas was not sure. "You got us into this mess. If you want to get warm, you will have to do it yourself." That and he wasn't sure how much longer he could have stood the cold outside.

Groaning, Altair squirmed nearer. He was not entirely fond of closeness, but he was even less fond of the cold. In what must have been intended to subtle movements, Altair slide closer until they were sitting beside one another. Taking pity on his friend, Abbas slung his arm over his shoulder and tugged him close. Without a word of protest, Altair leaned on him for support and rested his head on his shoulder. "It is too cold for running about." He muttered for the sake of conversation.

With a chuckle, he rubbed the novice's arm in soothing motions. They were both cold, but warming slowly as they grew closer. "No, it is simply too cold for you to be running about."

Altair grunted, still shivering against him. With his free hand, Abbas took Altair's. "Allah, you're freezing." He commented. Holding his hand delicately, he puffed warm breaths into it.

"That helps very little," Mumbled Altair, lazily tugging his hand back.

There was a frown upon his lips. "You look like a dying dog. Any bit will help and I am not building a fire," He continued to rub at Altair's arm while his head lolled to the side to rest upon Altair's "Al Mualim will be very cross when he learns of what you did."

Shifting to look up at him, Altair half pouted. "What we did. You must take responsibility for your own actions, for Al Mualim will be cross with you as well. The only difference is that I am not afraid." Abbas might have taken offense to the words if not for the mischievous smirk upon his face.

Clearing his throat, Abbas placed the hand that had previously been occupied with Altair's over his eyes. "Remember your superiors, Altair. You must always do as they say regardless of their mediocrity." He told him in his best imitation of Al Mualim. It was feeble, but they laughed nonetheless.

Together, they sat huddled in the little crevice in the stone, warming slowly and eventually drifting into a slumber, still lost in the snowy expanse of the mountains, still in deep trouble, but warm.


End file.
